Dread Pirate Mills
by Read and Write Monkey
Summary: The title doesn't match the two separate references within but this is an AU one shot I didn't stop myself from writing. Try it out. This is a scene between Emma and Regina (little Henry makes an appearance) and their odd relationship between caregiver and wannabe superhero. Yes? Really? Maybe. Read.


The slowly building shrill of the kettle in the kitchen pulled Emma from her book's pages. The idea of a hot cup of chamomile and a good book before bed was going to be the highlight of her evening. One steaming mug in her grasp accompanied her back to her worn in couch in her living room. Her small, one bedroom loft felt very cozy on late nights between her and a book. Living in the big city was daunting at first but she found her stride and learned to appreciate the hustle and bustle and the grit between brick and metal.

Being a former ER nurse at the General Hospital near downtown certainly matured her to city life. Only staying for two years did not make her particularly seasoned but it was enough to see how fragile life was. When her life got more complicated she decided to find a slower place to work at. It freed up her nights most days which left room for plenty of things to get done on her to-do list; as well as any sudden emergencies.

The sound of crashing metal outside her window jostled Emma away from her book. _Speaking of sudden emergencies._ Emma plopped her book down beside her on the sofa, not caring about saving her place, and sprang up from her seat. A hair tie around her wrist immediately was brought to pull back her long blonde hair into a ponytail. All the while she was moving towards her living room window to unlatch the lock and fling the panel up to see the fire escape.

"I thought you said you were going to take it easy this weekend?" Emma asked of the dark, shadowy figure slumped against the metal railing. All she got was a scoff and what Emma knew was a condescending look through a dark mask. A beat passed where Emma's green eyes stared at covered dark eyes before she broke the silence by reaching a hand out. "Come on."

A gloved hand clamped onto hers which brought more of the shadow's weight upon her arm. Emma grunted with the effort of getting a heavy body through the window without jostling them around too much. Simply by the fact that there was effort to keep them both up, besides the fact that she was being visited at all, had Emma worried for her ward. She kept the concern and questions to herself as she made the way towards her vacated couch. As soon as Emma saw a dark covered hand brace themselves on the arm rest, she ran towards the linen closet where she kept her emergency kit.

A large, thick towel wrapped around some gauze, wraps, rubbing alcohol, and saline solution. Emma quickly, but with a calm built from working in an ER, returned to the couch to throw down the towel. They've gone through the motions enough for the dark clad figure to wait for the towel before slowly slumping down on the seat. Emma went to lay the figure back but a hand shot up to resist her.

"I'm fine sitting up." Emma gave them a doubtful look when the words were followed by a subtle painful hiss. "My ribs." Came another short hiss of breath as the dark figure adjusted themselves more comfortably on the couch.

These visits only started a few short weeks ago but Emma had grown concerned for this enigma of a person. She remembers the first night she heard the telltale crash of a body slamming onto the fire escape outside her window. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest as she went to inspect the commotion with 911 close to being dialled on her phone. When Emma first saw the figure in all black scramble for her open window she will admit she got a few hits on the body before said body collapsed on her floor.

It was a few tense moments before more ruckus was heard coming down her fire escape in a terrible rush. She was about to lock the window up when a hand clamped down on her ankle. The poor muttering of the stranger on her floor caught Emma's attention. "Bad...bad men. Hide. Safe." Each word was pushed out between painful breaths which pulled at Emma's empathetic heartstring.

She removed the hand from her body, gentle but firm, and spoke with just as much confidence as she could in the chaotic moment. "You're safe now. Hold tight." Emma locked up her window, shut the curtains, and turned back to examine the panting body. Soon the heavy stomping of feet on the fire escape came and went in a heart stuttering tense few seconds. Emma took a deep breath and imagined she was back at work - as much as she hated the thought of bringing work home with her - so her hands were steady when she began to peel back clothes.

The person was covered head to toe in black clothes, apparently going for a stealthy night look, dark boots, and even a large bandana over the top half of their face. Emma's motions were stopped by a strong hand around her wrist. Emma was use to her patients putting up an effort so she worked to soothe them. "It's alright. I'm a nurse." Emma could tell the pants remained steady so it wasn't just the adrenaline causing such a high heart rate. From how the body hit the floor and the rattling breath being labored Emma knew this person was badly hurt. "Let me take a look."

A longer moment kept both tense before the figure loosened their grip slightly. Emma took it as permission as she began to loosen up the clothes around the torso. That's when Emma realized how soft and small this person was; she gasped and stilled her movements. "You- you're-"

A light chuckle quickly turned into a pained hiss and groan. "A woman, yes." Emma's shock was evident as her eyes roamed the person below her. The stranger's voice was deeper than hers but still quite feminine and her strong looking jaw was a bit softer looking now that she was paying attention to such things.

"How- why-"

"Are you always so articulate?" The mysterious woman didn't bother to try to laugh again but the lightness in her voice was evident. Emma ignored that because she had questions. So many questions.

"Why are you wearing a mask?" Probably wasn't the most important question at the moment but it was the first thing that came out. She thought that it was odd, on top of everything else about the sudden turn of events, that this woman's eyes were covered.

"Well, it'd hardly be a good idea to be recognized by criminals. Especially when you intend to stop them."

"What?! You got into a fight with a bunch of criminals?" Emma gaped at this odd woman. "You watch too much tv."

That brought out another pained chuckle from the black clad, wanna-be hero. "I don't watch much tv at all." She moved to adjust herself on the floor causing a groan to press out of her lips. The sound snapped Emma out of her stupor just enough to continue assessing the damage done to the woman.

As gentle as she was, Emma's questing fingers brought about more pained hissing from her patient but she was not stopped again. "I'd say you have a couple fractures, if not completely broken, ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Not to mention various lacerations on your arms and torso." She was only able to push and coerce the clothing the woman wore enough to see a few and have the evidence of such on her fingertips.

"Well, you're not a doctor so…" Her words were finished off by a deep grunt of pain as the masked woman pushed herself up to her elbows. Instinctively Emma reached out to steady and stop her from further hurting herself.

"Whoa, slow down. I'm an experienced nurse and I'm telling you you need to get to a hospital. There's one a few blocks from here we cou-"

"No. I can't go to a hospital."

"What? Why? Are you a criminal too?"

The woman had enough energy to scoff. "No, despite how this may look to you I am not a criminal. I just know enough of the legal system and hospital protocol to know questions will be asked of my state of being if I turn up there like this."

Emma had to concede that much. She had plenty of questions of her own right now and she wasn't on the clock to require as such.

"Okay. so no to the hospital but at least let me tend to the more serious of the injuries. There are so many things that can go wrong if you let injuries like these go unattended for long."

The woman tensed, holding a straining breath, and released it slowly to answer. "I suppose getting the serious injuries seen to by a professional would be the smart thing to do." Emma sighed in relief and they struggled to get the woman comfortable and seen to with the medical equipment Emma had stocked up at home.

Since then they had come across a routine of sorts and the mysterious woman didn't put up much of a fight towards Emma poking and prodding her. As Emma looked at her wrapped ribs she mused on the first time they met in almost the exact same position. "I suspect you're a terrible fighter or you enjoy our visits too much."

The chest cavity beneath her fingertips depressed quickly and stilled. Emma's eyes looked up to see a faint smile tugging at lips grimacing in slight pain. "Maybe I'm a sucker for punishment so both." The woman smirked which made Emma laugh.

"I understand you so much better now." Emma worked quickly to apply a soothing ointment to the tender flesh and rewrapped it quickly. "Did you have to upset your ribs? They're still setting, you know, which kind of means no more strenuous activity."

The caped crusader sans cape covered her ribs back up. "Well, my day job can be quite boring. Where will I get my thrills?"

Emma looked at the woman for a long moment trying to imagine this stubborn, tough and eloquent woman at some kind of office setting. Or maybe she was a realtor or swim instructor. The object of her musing's voice brought her back to the present.

"You're not laughing. Am I finally overstaying my welcome?" Emma shook her head with a faint smile but remained silent. "Say something."

Emma cleared her throat but was unsure of what to say, what to ask, or if she had any right to get to know this woman.

Eventually, Emma straightened from her crouched position before her mysterious guest and sat beside her on the couch instead. The dark fabric covering eyes was thick and she wondered how she saw anything at all. Emma took in the way the dark woman followed her movements with her head but something was off. If there was no mask the line of sight would still be off by a few inches. Her head was tilted slightly to the side as if curious or waiting to hear something.

Emma has seen that look somewhere before and when her mind found it, it clicked for her. "Can you see me?" Emma saw the twitch of lips as they frowned slightly and the stilted breathing before the woman opened her mouth to respond.

"Someone's here." The woman's head twirled towards the other side of the apartment closer to the entrance and hallway to the bedrooms. Emma was about to question her or accuse her of changing the subject but was brought short by a small voice at the entrance to the hallway.

"Mommy?"

Emma was off the couch in a split second to greet her son. Once he saw her fully he barrelled right into her. Emma quickly lifted him up onto her hip and brushed slightly damp hair out of his face. The little boy buried his face in her neck quickly when he caught sight of the stranger in their living room. "Hey, sweetie. Did you have a bad dream?"

He nodded into her neck while she soothed his back with her free arm. "You have a child?"

Emma rotated to see the woman on the couch fully. "Yeah, this is my son, Henry." At the mention of his name the boy turned his head just barely to glance at the stranger. "Henry, this- is a friend of mommy's." Emma introduced, feeling really horrible she had no name to give her son.

Despite being shy and awoken so suddenly, Henry released a small arm to offer a small wave with a pudgy hand. Emma smiled at her son's manners despite everything. When no response was made by their guest Emma, on a hunch, provided commentary. "He waved hello."

Emma could see the woman on the couch's jaw clench and her lips purse before she moved to get off the couch. "I should go." Ever attentive to a person's discomfort, Emma quickly move to stand in front of the woman, blocking her path.

"You don't have to hurry off. You're still in pain. "

"It won't be the first or last time. I shouldn't intrude on your family like this."

Emma kept a gentle but firm hand on a shoulder as she brought Henry with her to sit beside the woman on the couch. "It wouldn't be the first but I hope the last time." Emma smirked. The woman tensed further and scowled at her words so Emma clarified. "I meant I hope you won't get hurt badly enough to need to come see me."

The woman relaxed only slightly then Henry turned to whisper directly in Emma's ear. "Is she hurt, mommy?"

Emma soothed him instantly with her hands and kept her tone gentle. "Yes, baby, mommy is making her better though."

Henry nodded into her neck and sat quietly to look at his mommy's friend. He suddenly shot back up to whisper in her ear again but wasn't as quiet as before. "Is she a pirate?" Both women startled slightly at his random question, Emma held back a chuckle while she asked her son to clarify. He pointed towards their small bookshelf that held books and movie cases. "The dwed pirate."

Emma chuckled openly then. "The _Dread_ Pirate Roberts. That guy, Henry?" He nodded at her knowingly. "Hmm, maybe, they look similar." Emma squinted at their mystery guest in accusation for Henry's sake which had the boy eyeing the woman on the couch as well.

"I'm sorry, who?" The dark woman questioned.

"It's a character from a movie. Princess Bride. Ever seen it?" Emma explained but the other woman simply shook her head in the negative. "Oh, you should. It's a classic."

"I don't watch many movies either."

"Why?" Emma was surprised her son's question popped out before her own. She waited to see it answered however. The response took a little bit of time to answer from their guest.

"I don't quite enjoy them." She answered shortly.

"Why?" Henry asked, more confused. Emma rubbed his arms soothingly, trying to reel him in.

"Henry-"

"I can't see them." Emma stopped short by the woman's answer and just stared for a moment. Her recent suspicions had been accurate. Henry, on the other hand, didn't quite understand the answers he was getting.

"Just use your eyes."

"Henry! That's enough questions. I'm sorry, he-"

The woman held up a hand to the blonde mother to stop and shook her head. "It's quite alright." She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders so she was facing the family duo better. "Henry, have you- that is- do you know what being blind means?" He shook his head no, which amused Emma, so she told the woman that he did not. "Well, it means a person can not use their eyes. Everything is dark. I am blind, Henry."

The last words were addressed to her son but Emma felt they were also directed towards her by the slight movement of the head. Emma was rocked back by the discovery. The woman she had been attending to on a few occasions could not see. There was hardly any sign or hint that she was. Maybe a few clever jokes or puns made her way but Emma couldn't guess it from that. She had been involved with criminals, fought them, chase them down, and managed to get to her apartment while injured. Emma was amazed at what this woman could do and she was barely scratching the surface, she knew.

Henry had been eyeing the woman apprehensively and shook his hand near the front of her face as if to make sure she was telling the truth. "I know what you're doing Henry. I can not see you waving your hand at me." His eyes bugged out for a second as he scooted back into his mother.

"You said you can't not see." He mumbled wearily.

"I can't see, yes, but I can hear your pajamas rustling slightly and a hint of air across my face from the movement." The woman smirked at the child and Emma became a little more impressed.

"That's how you fight? By using your other senses?" Emma asked distractedly. Henry jumped onto what his mother said with vigor.

"You fight? That's naughty, but not if you fight fair or not want to get hurt. Right, mommy?"

Emma smiled down at him. "Yes, baby, unless you fight fair or defend yourself from bad people." He nodded in agreement with her. "I think mommy's friend was defending herself against bad people so it's okay but she got hurt."

"And you make it better, right?" Henry asked, like he always does when Emma tells him about her day at work. Of course, she leaves out the gritty details and gives the watered down version.

"Yes, sweetie." Emma caressed hair away from his face. "Why don't we go back to bed, okay?"

As if on cue, Henry lets out a big yawn and mumbles small objections into Emma's neck. He won't go down with a fuss now. After Emma stands with Henry in tow but before she leaves the room Henry plucks his head high enough to speak. "Mommy, hot choc-let make better."

Emma chuckles at his sleepy words and assures him hot chocolate will come. Not for him because he's so sleepy but now that she thinks about it, this may be a good opportunity to get to know her strange guest. She deposits Henry back into his twin bed with enough pillows surrounding him so he won't fall off the edge then quickly returns to the living room.

The couch is empty when she walks in but her eyes dart to the window automatically. Emma offers a small sigh of relief even as her stomach drops a little. "You don't have to go."

"This isn't- I shouldn't have- well, this is what it is. I come and go but it was never to intrude upon you more than it needed to."

Emma slowly progresses towards the woman. "It's not the intrusion that I dislike about your visits. It's- well, the fact that you're so beat up when you do."

A scoff from a dark shadow. "There's no reason for me to return if I wasn't."

"Why?" Emma shoots back quickly. The partially masked woman opens her mouth but is silent. "Look, I'm not saying we become besties or anything I just...would like to get to know you. More."

The woman shakes her head. "I can't-"

"I'm not asking for your life story right away but maybe just little things. We could have some tea or hot chocolate, whichever you prefer. Henry kind of suggested I make you a hot chocolate. It's what I give him to help make him feel better." Emma shrugs pointlessly.

A few moments pass where Emma gives the woman time to process since she hasn't run out the window yet. "He's never been here before. I mean, when I was."

Emma is a little surprised by that but nods along and stuffs her hands in her loose fitting sweats. "Yeah, he was with my family and the other parent on those nights."

Now that she knows the woman can't see, Emma can clearly tell she is listening extra hard by the way she tilts her head slightly to the left. It almost makes her smile since she can spot it now. "The other parent meaning his father? Who doesn't live here. There's no male scent anywhere which also means you don't have company over much or possible don't date."

Emma's eyes widen at the woman's words and shoots her hands out as she closes in on her. "Whoa, slow down there, okay. I date. I've been on- a date. And I have friends over it's just mostly girls I guess. Don't go assuming things."

An uncovered jaw clenches slightly. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your chamomile tea and you won't have to-"

"How do you do that exactly?" Emma cuts her off again, determined to spend more time with this woman that has nothing to do with medical examinations. "How can you...sense things so well?"

A longer moment passes. "It's a long story."

* * *

I know I shouldn't start something I don't think I'll finish but I saw a couple episodes of Daredevil and now there's this. I don't know where it will go, what's it doing, or why I wanted to write it so bad but...yeah. I'll just call it a one shot and be done with these weird images in my head of a scrappy, kick-ass, superhero, blind Regina Mills and a down-to-earth, tough as nails, medical savvy blonde mother, Emma Swan. Hope you enjoy this "short" one shot and its abrupt beginning and end. Now let's just leave these guys in this AU and say they lived happily...eventually. Thx.


End file.
